Posted on 02/19/2014 4:53:43 AM PST by thackney
You’ve never seen a transport truck quite like this.
Walmart created a concept truck to maximize efficiency on the road, and the result is something that looks a little more spaceship than tractor-trailer.
Walmart Corporate announced the project Feb. 17 during a meeting to report on progress with reaching the company’s sustainability goals.
Chris Sultemeier, senior vice president and head of corporate transportation services for Wal-Mart, said the company also has agreed to buy 2,000 hydrogen-fueled forklift trucks for use in its U.S. and Canadian distribution centers, the Transport Times reported.
In 2005, Wal-Mart set a goal of doubling the efficiency of its truck fleet by 2015. Sultemeier said the company reached 80% of its goal by purchasing more fuel-efficient trucks and finding ways to ship more goods in less space and using fewer trucks.
The company uploaded a video of the truck on YouTube and described it as the “latest in (their) fleet efficiency program.”
The Walmart Advanced Vehicle Experience, or WAVE, concept truck is … (a) one-of-a-kind prototype offers a whole package of firsts. The tractor has very advanced aerodynamics and is powered by a prototype advanced turbine-powered, range-extending series hybrid powertrain.
The trailer is made almost exclusively with carbon fiber, saving around 4,000 pounds which can then be used to carry more freight.
OK, where’s the space for the truck stop hookers?
Also, I note that if one wanted to live the trucker life portrayed in “Smokey and the Bandit”, or the series “BJ and the Bear”, there is no space up front for a hound dog or a chimpanzee to accompany and advise the driver.
What kind of advancement is this?
How does it keep the windshield clear in rain and snow? Also it doesn’t seem to have roll down windows. That could complicate several things like tolls and weigh stations.
Great...but will WalMart hire Americans to drive them?
“Great...but will WalMart hire Americans to drive them?”
or build them?
Wiper Blades Might Soon Be a Thing of the Past
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/16/wiper-blades-might-soon-be-a-thing-of-the-past/
Interesting that this appears in time for Obama’s newest decree on heavy truck fuel standards. Looks like one more “Truck of the future” that will never hit the road. Walmart already contracts out most of their freight hauling anyway.
Not to mention exhaust leaks. Speaking of which, where is the exhaust stack?
Very cool. But any engineer could tell you that the front of a tractor trailer should be shaped like a jet’s nose. The issue is getting the functional components to fit within that shape, and ROI.
“That could complicate several things like tolls”
Driver in the center will need loooong arms to pay tolls.
That cab looks like a real treat for summer afternoon driving.
The tractor is by Peterbuilt
The trailer is by Great Dane
There was no rear faring that one sees on a number of trailers these days
This is what Walmart has always done....... lead
They selected the best to do what they needed
I don't think they've made any recent changes. They do their own store deliveries for dry goods and contract out the grocery deliveries. Inbound freight to the distribution centers is up for bids, as it always has been.
And those mirrors are way too small.
Ahhh.... those of you that just don’t think.
Manually paying tolls is obsolete. To pay the toll, you press the button, the onboard computer calculates the toll and pays the toll station computer.
The onboard strain gauges in the trailer relay the axle loads to the computer that transmits the numbers to the weigh station. In the event of overweight, the fine is calculated by the weigh station and then paid. There is thus no need for a line of trucks at the chicken coop. There is no need to stop
Eye-yi-yi. Kinda like being strapped to the front bumper of your KW.
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